


E:A Power of Three

by Alona74



Series: Warriors E [2]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Original Character(s), Spiritual, hints of dark past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 04:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8953489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alona74/pseuds/Alona74
Summary: Hollyleaf has power just like her brothers, what are her powers and how will she use it? A mysterious cat teaches her to use it. What are the mysteries behind her and her brother's powers and why would the cat teach her.





	1. Prologue

"Leafpool, will the clan accept the lie?" asked Squirrelflight, carrying Lionkit and Jaykit. Her littermate nodded, holding a black she-kit.

"They will, they have to. If the prophecy is right, we need my kits or the clans are doomed."

Both she-cats padded through the snow until they push through the gorse tunnel. Thunderclan's deputy, a brown tabby tom, sat in the camp, worried. He turned to the tunnel and his eyes flickered.

"Squirrelflight! Where have you been? And Leafpool! Where were you?! Nightshimmer had to take over as a medicine cat while you were gone!" Brambleclaw's looked at the kits and his voice softened. "And where did you find those kits?"

The sister looked at each and they padded to him, putting the kits near his paws. "Brambleclaw, these are our kits. I was out hunting when I felt pain rippling through my stomach and managed to reach a hollow in a tree. I was lucky Leafpool was out there collecting herbs."

Her mate looked at her sister gratefully. "Thank you, Leafpool. Have you named them?"

"Yes. This is Lionkit—" She pointed a golden tom. "—Jaykit—" The gray tabby mewed. "—and Hollykit." The she-kit yawned and moved to Leafpool's stomach. Brambleclaw stared at the kit in surprise. "Hollykit is very close to Leafpool," he noted aloud, making the sisters cling inwardly.

"The kits have been around Leafpool and Squirrelflight for quite a while now, they would be close to them," meowed a feathery she-cat with violet eyes, padding out of the medicine cat den.

"Nightshimmer..." mewed Leafpool, relief lighting her eyes.

"These poor kits must be tired and cold from the journey. Brambleclaw—"

Leafpool did not listen as she padded back to the medicine den, which smells of Nightshimmer. Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw nuzzled each other and took her—their kits to the nursery. The black she-cat pad to her. "Leafpool, are you fine about this?" asked her mentor.

"Yes, Nightshimmer. Thank you for helping me."

Nightshimmer flicked her ear. Just like Nightfrost, whom she was named after, she doesn't talk much and tend to reply though a twitch of a tail or a flick of an ear like earlier.

"Well...it'll be alright. After all, you know your heart now, Leafpool," Nightshimmer mewed and padded away to the warrior's den.


	2. Emotions

"Ashfur, don't you think Squirrelflight's kits are lovely?" asked his sister, Ferncloud. The tom grunted and looked away. "Ashfur, Squirrelflight is Brambleclaw's mate, not yours. When will you accept that?" asked Ferncloud gently.

"I have, Ferncloud. I have." Ashfur padded out of the nursery and looked up to see Swiftfoot with Daisy at his side. Cloudtail padded in with prey, grabbed a piece of prey and meet with his mate, Brightheart and his daughter, Whitewing. Ashfur partly glared at them and padded to the warrior den to sleep for the day.

-Hollykit-

In the nursery, a black she-kit stumbled out of her nest and looked around, wondering where she is. She remembered a bit about a tree and playing with many colored leaves. Maybe she can find some out of the cave. Hollykit stepped over her brothers and passed two she-cats. She poked through the many leaves woven at the entrance. No leaves. She padded outside and looked up. The lights which dotted the black sky seem to watch over her.

She twitched her ears and padded around, exploring. There was a pile of prey at the center but her mom said she cannot eat it yet. The clearing was surrounded by rocks and caves everywhere, leaves covering them. She padded to one of the dens and many scents flowed to her nose. But other then the scents, she felt...something...and it seem to be coming from the cats. Most of it feel happy, but one is sad...Angry. She followed it.

She somehow walked into the den without making noises. Hollykit signed in relief. She followed the feeling, leading her a big gray tom. She looked up to see dark flecks in his pelt. His face has a scowl carved on. Hollykit stared and wondered why he is sad. Mom had said cuddling can make a cat happy. She decided to cuddle him.

-Ashfur-

Ashfur blinked his eyes awake as he felt something at his stomach. He curled a bit to look. "Hollykit? What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised.

Said kit looked at him and mewed. She totted to near his forepaws. Hollykit stared at him, nuzzled him and curled up at his forepaws. Ashfur was thinking of walking her up when he watch the kit sleeping peacefully. He signed and decided to leave her be. He put his head down as Hollykit twitched and left her head on his paw.

...

"Ashfur! It's time—," Longtail called out before he felt another warrior's tail in his mouth.

"Quiet Longtail!" Dustpelt mewed in a hushed voice. "I think it would be a good idea that we leave them alone. I'll tell Brambleclaw about it," the younger tom continued, pushing the blind warrior out. Dustpelt turned back to his mate's brother, who was sleeping peacefully with the she-kit. Ashfur's face had a smile on him. Dustpelt twitched his whiskers and padded back out.

...

**THUNDERCLAN**

Leader: Firestar-ginger tom with a flame-colored pelt and green eyes

Deputy: Brambleclaw-dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Berrypaw

Medicine Cat: Leafpool-light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Warriors:

Dustpelt-dark brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Hazelpaw

Sandstorm-pale ginger she-cat with green eyes  
Apprentice, Honeypaw

Cloudtail-long-haired white tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Cinderpaw

Brackenfur-golden brown tabby tom; amber eyes

Thornclaw-golden brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Poppypaw

Swiftfoot-black and white tom with amber eyes

Brightheart-white she-cat with ginger patches with blue eyes

Whitewing-white she-cat with pale green eyes

Ashfur-pale gray (with darker flecks) tom, dark blue eyes

Sorreltail-tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes

Spiderleg-long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes  
Apprentice, Mousepaw

Brook Where Small Fish Swim (Brook)-brown tabby she-cat with gray eyes, formerly of the Tribe of Rushing Water

Stormfur-dark gray tom with amber eyes, formerly of Riverclan

Birchfall-light brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Nightshimmer-feathery black she-cat with purple eyes, kit of Violet and Fuzz

Longtail-blind, pale tabby tom with black stripes

Redstrike-red tom with icy blue eyes, kit of Nightfrost(Scourge) and Red

Silveryflight-silver tom with green eyes, formerly of Bloodclan, was known as Dark

Dewyfern-pale golden she-cat, kit of Cinderpelt and Longtail

Apprentices:

Berrypaw-cream-colored tom

Hazelpaw-small gray and white she-cat

Mousepaw-gray and white tom with green eyes

Cinderpaw-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Honeypaw-light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Poppypaw-tortoiseshell she-cat

Queens:

Ferncloud-pale gray (with darker flecks) she-cat, green eyes, mother of Dustpelt's kits: Icekit and Foxkit

Daisy-cream-colored, long-furred cat from the horseplace, Swiftfoot's mate

Squirrelflight-dark ginger she-cat with green eyes, mother of Brambleclaw's kits: Lionkit, Hollykit, and Jaykit

Elders:

Mousefur-small dusky brown she-cat

**SHADOWCLAN**

Leader: Blackstar-large white tom with huge jet-black paws

Deputy: Russetfur-dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Littlecloud-very small tabby tom with blue eyes

Warriors:

Oakfur-small brown tom

Rowanclaw-ginger tom with green eyes  
Apprentice, Ivypaw

Smokefoot-black tom  
Apprentice, Owlpaw

Snowbird-pure white she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

Ivypaw-black, white, and tortoiseshell she-cat

Owlpaw-light brown tabby tom

Queens:

Tawnypelt-tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Elders:

Cedarheart-dark gray tom

Tallpoppy-long-legged light brown tabby she-cat

**WINDCLAN**

Leader: Onestar-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Ashfoot-gray she-cat

Medicine Cat: Barkface-short-tailed brown tom  
Apprentice, Kestrelpaw

Warriors:

Tornear-tabby tom  
Apprentice, Harepaw

Crowfeather-dark gray tom with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Heatherpaw

Owlwhisker-light brown tabby tom

Whitetail-small white she-cat

Weaselfur-ginger tom with white paws

Apprentices:

Kestrelpaw-brownish-gray tom with little white splotches

Harepaw-brown and white tom

Heatherpaw-light brown tabby she-cat with heather blue eyes

Queens:

Nightcloud-black she-cat with amber eyes, mother of Crowfeather's kit: Breezekit

Elders:

Morningflower-tortoiseshell queen with amber eyes

Webfoot-dark gray tabby tom

**RIVERCLAN**

Leader: Leopardstar-unusually spotted golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy: Mistyfoot-gray she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Dapplepaw

Medicine Cat: Mothwing-dappled golden she-cat with amber eyes  
Apprentice, Willowpaw

Warriors:

Blackclaw-smoky black tom

Whiteclaw-dark tom with one white paw

Voletooth-small brown tabby tom  
Apprentice, Minnowpaw

Reedwhisker-black tom with dark gray eyes  
Apprentice, Pouncepaw

Mosspelt-tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes  
Apprentice, Pebblepaw

Beechfur-light brown tom

Rippletail-dark gray tabby tom

Apprentices:

Dapplepaw-mottled, gray she-cat

Willowpaw-dark gray tabby she-cat with bright green eyes

Minnowpaw-dark gray-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Pouncepaw-ginger-and-white tabby tom

Pebblepaw-mottled, pale gray tom

Queens:

Dawnflower-pale gray she-cat

Elders:

Swallowtail-dark tabby she-cat with green eyes

Stonestream-gray tom with blue eyes

...

"So, the three are here now..." murmured a black-and-white she-cat with silver-colored scars, her blind eyes seemingly gazing into the distance.


	3. Lookout for Foxes

Hollykit threw a mouse high into the air. "You'll never catch it!" She mewed to Lionkit, who attempt to catch it. The mouse sailed over his head, landing on the ground. The golden tabby rushed after the fresh-kill. At the same time, without needing to look back; Hollykit jumped on her brother, spinning in the air.

"Oof! Watch out!" Jaykit turned his blind blue eyes to Hollykit.

"You're awake at last!" Hollykit sensed Lionkit had just thrown the mouse her way. Sneaky Lionkit, did he think he can catch her off guard? Hollykit rolled off her brother, pushing her hind paws into his frank. With a leap, she twisted away and grasped the mouse midair. Hollykit looked down to her brother, who was up in his paws.

"Catch this, Jaykit!" Hollykit mewed. She landed on her paws and threw the mouse his way. Jaykit turned as it whistled past, his jaws snapping the air. "Slow slug!"

"I've got it!" Lionkit called. The maned kit wiggled his hindquarters and pounced after the mouse. Jaykit let out a playful growl, leaping at Lionkit. Lionkit was pushed out of the way and Jaykit stretched out his neck to reach the mouse. He landed in a clumsy skid and rolled. Hollykit widen her green eyes as she saw where he is rolling to. Jaykit bumped into Ferncloud, shocked at the squirming bodies of Foxkit and Icekit under him.

The queen had a scowl on her face, pushing Jaykit off the kits with her hind paws. Hollykit and Lionkit padded to his side. "Have I hurt them?" Jaykit gasped.

"Of course not," Ferncloud snapped. "You're too small to squash a flea!" Foxkit and Icekit mewled as she tucked them closer into her belly. "But you three are getting too rough for the nursery!"

"Sorry, Ferncloud," Hollykit mewed.

"Sorry," Jaykit echoed. The queen's anger would not last. She would easily forgive kits she had suckled—when Squirrelflight's milk had not come, it was Ferncloud who had fed Jaykit, Hollykit, and Lionkit in the moons before Foxkit and Icekit were born.

"It's about time Firestar made you apprentices and moved you to the apprentice den," Ferncloud meowed. 

"If only." Lionkit sighed, his ears flattened.

"It won't be long," Hollykit pointed out. "We're almost six moons old."

"Well, you're not six moons yet! And until you are, you can do your playing outside!" she ordered.

"Yes, Ferncloud," Lionkit replied meekly.

The black kit padded to the nursery entrance. "Come on, Jaykit," Hollykit called. "Bring the mouse with you." The branches of the bramble bush rustled as she slid out through the nursery entrance.

Outside, the air smelled crisp and frosty. The snow crunched under her paws. There were two more crunches, her brothers following behind her. Hollykit sat on the snow, looking around the clearing Firestar was sharing tongues with Sandstorm below Highledge. Dustpelt sat with them. Though she could not hear them, Hollykit could tell they were talking about the warrior's den as Dustpelt's tail had pointed to the thorn bush.

Brightheart and Cloudtail were grooming each other in a pool of sunlight on the other side of the clearing. Brightheart paused from her washing. "How are you today, Jaykit?"

Jaykit placed the mouse between his paws. "I'm fine, of course," he meowed, somewhat annoyed. He flung the mouse high over her head. Hollykit stood on her hind paws, her mouth open wide. A furry mane tackled her to the ground and the two grappled. Lionkit push her to the ground. Hollykit snapped at his paws, forcing him off her. Both stood on their hind paws, using their fore paws trying to push the other away from the prize.

Lionkit won the prize, pushing Hollykit away and grabbed the mouse in his jaws. The black kit chased after her brother, tackling him and trying to grab the mouse. But every time she came close to the mouse, Lionkit turned his neck or put his back to her. Hollykit growled and looked to Jaykit. She rushed to her other brother, tackling him to the ground.

"Are you playing with us or not?" Hollykit demanded.

Jaykit leaped up, shaking himself. "Of course I am!"

"Well, Lionkit's got the mouse, and he won't let me have it!" Hollykit complained.

"Let's get him then!" Jaykit raced to his bigger brother, sending snow everywhere. He bundled into Lionkit and pressed him to the frosty earth while Hollykit dragged the mouse from Lionkit's claws.

"Unfair!" Lionkit protested.

"We don't have to be fair," Hollykit squeaked triumphantly. "We're not in Starclan yet!"

"And you never will be if you keep playing with food that way!" Stormfur had paused beside them on his way to the warriors' den. His words were stern, though his voice was warm. "It's leaf-bare. We should thank Starclan for every morsel."

Lionkit wriggled out from underneath Jaykit. "We're just practicing our hunting skills!"

"We have to practice," Jaykit added, sitting up. "We'll be apprentices soon."

Stormfur was silent for a moment. The leaves from the warrior's den rustled and Longtail padded out into the snow. The blind warrior had his eyes clawed by a rabbit. At first, every cat thought he was a lost cause. But a warrior in the clan knew how to teach him to fight and hunt while blind and he remained a warrior since.

"Of course," Stormfur murmured, after watching the elder tom pad away from the den. "I was forgetting."

Jaykit seem frustrated. His tail tip twitched angrily and his lips curled. Hollykit opened her mouth when her belly rumbled. "H-how about we eat this mouse instead of playing with it?"

"You two share it," Lionkit offered. "I'll get something from the fresh-kill pile."

Both of her brothers turned to the fresh-kill pile. Jaykit's nose twitched towards the pile. He took in a deeper breath, opening his jaws to draw the scents into his mouth. He padded past his brother, his tail held stiffly behind him.

"What are you doing?" Lionkit asked, stepping out of the way.

Jaykit didn't answer. He nosed his way in among the small dead bodies, caught hold of a wren, and pulled it free. "Look!" he mewed, rolling the bird over with his paw. The creature's belly was alive with maggots.

"Ugh!" Hollykit squealed, squirming.

"Well spotted," Leafpool praised them, dropping bile-soaked moss at her paws as she stopped by them. "I know prey is scarce at the moment, but better to eat nothing than to eat something that will hurt your belly."

"Jaykit found it," Hollykit told her. The amber eyes glitter with warmth at them.

"Well, he's saved me a patient," Leafpool meowed sternly. "I'm busy enough as it is. Brackenfur and Birchfall have whitecough."

"Do you want help gathering herbs?" Jaykit offered hopefully.

"You could gather far more herbs with us to carry them back to camp!" Lionkit put in, his tail twitching.

"You know you're not meant to leave the camp until you're apprentices," Leafpool reminded them.

"But you'll need help if there are sick cats...," Jaykit insisted.

Leafpool silenced him by flicking the tip of her tail over his mouth. "I'm sorry, Jaykit," she meowed. "It won't be long until Firestar gives you your apprentice names. But until then, you'll have to wait like any other kits."

Jaykit's tail twitched crossly. "I'm sorry," Leafpool repeated. "But that's just the way it is." She picked up the foul-smelling moss and padded back to the medicine den.

Her golden brother gave Jaykit a friendly nudge. "Nice try," Lionkit whispered in Jaykit's ear. "But it looks like we're stuck in the camp for a while longer."

"Leafpool always thinks she can win us over just because she brings wool for our nests from the moorland," Jaykit hissed. "Or pieces of honeycomb to lick. Why can't she just give us what we really want—a chance to explore outside the camp?"

Hollykit swished her tail over the frozen ground. Like her brothers, she wanted to go out and explore the forest. But as much as she wanted to... "But she's right," she mewed grudgingly. "We must stick to the warrior code."

They ate, sharing the mouse and a vole between them. As they were finishing off the prey and cleaning their muzzles, a rustle in the thorn barrier that protected the entrance to the camp signaled Berrypaw's return. Daisy's kit charged over to the fresh-kill pile and threw down his catch—a plump wood pigeon.

"Where's Brambleclaw?" Berrypaw called out to the kits.

"He's with Squirrelflight," Jaykit replied. "They're checking for loose stones." His gray ears pricked to the stone wall. "Up there," he told Berrypaw, lifting his nose toward them.

"You're sharp today, Jaykit!" Berrypaw meowed. "I wanted to show him my pigeon and ask him if we were doing battle training after sunhigh."

"You must be really good at hunting." Lionkit sighed, clearly thinking the same thing his siblings are. _Why can't I be an apprentice now?_

"It's just practice," Berrypaw told them. "Look." He crouched down. "This is how you begin."

Lionkit jumped to the advice, his tail high up.

"Get your tail down!" Berrypaw ordered. "It's sticking up like a bluebell!"

Lionkit's tail slapped against the frozen earth.

"Now pull yourself forward, smooth as a snake," Berrypaw commanded. Lionkit padded forward a bit, his fur ruffling.

"You look like you've got wind!" Hollykit crowed.

Lionkit gave a playful hiss and leaped at her. They rolled to the ground. Hollykit fought back with her front paws, purring while Lionkit pummeled her belly with his hind paws. They stopped as two warriors burst into camp, Spiderleg and Thornclaw, with ragged breathing. Lionkit got off Hollykit as she rolled to her paws.

"What is it?" Firestar meowed.

Spiderleg drew in a deep breath, then announced, "There's a dead fox on our territory!"

"Where?" Firestar's meow was tense.

"By the Sky Oak," Thornclaw mewed, panting. "It was killed by a trap."

Loose pebbles clattering down the wall of the hollow. Hollykit turned to see Brambleclaw was scrambling down into the camp, followed by Squirrelflight.

"What's happening?" he called.

"Thornclaw and Spiderleg have found a dead fox," Firestar explained. "Killed by a trap."

"Male or female?"

"Female," Spiderleg told her.

"Then there may be cubs," Brambleclaw growled.

"What harm can a couple of fox cubs do?" Jaykit whispered to Hollykit, puzzled.

"Cubs grow up into foxes, mouse-brain!" she hissed back. "An adult fox can kill a cat."

"The fox had the scent of milk on her," Thornclaw reported.

"So there are definitely cubs," Firestar concluded. The warriors' den rattled as Ashfur scrambled out, wide eyes glancing to and fore at his leader and the two warriors.

"Where was this trap?" Brambleclaw asked.

"The trap is lakeside of the camp, not far from the Sky Oak."

"The cubs must be near," Brambleclaw guessed. "Their mother will not have wandered far from them."

"What should we do?" Ferncloud had emerged from the nursery. "We can't let the forest be overrun by foxes! What about my kits?"

"We must find the den," Brambleclaw replied without hesitation.

"If the cubs are very young, they'll starve without their mother," Firestar meowed. "It would be best to kill them quickly."

"What if they're old enough to survive alone?" Hollykit asked curiously.

"Then they must be driven out," Firestar told her. "They can't be allowed to settle in our territory."

"The cubs will be hungry by now," Ashfur pointed out.

"What if they've ventured out of their den already?"

"They might find the camp!" Ferncloud gasped.

"The camp will remain well guarded," Firestar promised. "I'll take Sandstorm and check the old Thunderpath up to the empty Twoleg nest. Brambleclaw, you sort out the other patrols." The Thunderclan leader and his mate raced away through the prickly thorn barrier that shielded the camp from the forest.

"Stormfur, Brook!" Brambleclaw called. "Patrol outside the hollow! Ashfur, guard the entrance."

Brightheart and Cloudtail paced in front of him. "What do you want us to do?"

"Head toward the Shadowclan border," Brambleclaw told them. "The earth is sandy there, ideal for a den. Squirrelflight will lead you. Do whatever she tells you. There may be more traps, and Squirrelflight is the best at springing them. Take Cinderpaw, but keep her close to you."

Cloudtail called his apprentice's name, but the young gray tabby was already charging across the clearing. Squirrelflight headed toward the entrance, blushing against her kits.

Brambleclaw called to Thornclaw and Spiderleg, "Go back to where you found the fox. See if you can trace its scent back to her den."

Sorreltail's kits: Poppypaw and Mousepaw were waiting expectantly, hardly able to stand still.

"Can we go with them?" Poppypaw called.

"Yes, but do everything your mentors tell you," Brambleclaw warned.

Hollykit twitched her tail. She wanted to go too!

"We're not going to be left behind!" Lionkit suddenly announced. "Brambleclaw!"

"What?" Brambleclaw's voice was impatient.

"Can't we do something to help?" Lionkit begged. "We're nearly apprentices."

" _Nearly_ isn't good enough," Brambleclaw replied. Lionkit looked down, disappointed. Brambleclaw's voice soften. "You, Hollykit, and Jaykit can help guard the camp with the remaining warriors. I'm taking Dustpelt and Hazelpaw to search the lakeshore. We need brave cats to make sure those fox cubs don't come into the hollow. If you scent or see anything strange, send Leafpool to fetch me at once."

"Okay," Lionkit mewed eagerly. He hurried back to his brother and sister. "We've got to guard the camp," he told them. "In case the fox cubs try to get in."

"You don't think the fox cubs would really get this far, do you?" Jaykit mewed grumpily. "There must be a Thunderclan apprentice behind every tree out there. Brambleclaw's just trying to keep us busy."

Lionkit sat down with a bump, like a leaf that had been dropped by the breeze. "I thought he really wanted us to help."

"You never know," Hollykit mewed. "The fox cubs might head this way, and if they do I bet we could smell them first—especially with Jaykit helping."

"You're just as bad as Brambleclaw," he snapped. "Stop trying to pretend we're important to the clan when we're not."

Hollykit kneaded the ground with her forepaws. "We will be important one day," she vowed.

Lionkit suddenly stood up and turned in an excited circle, his tail fluffing out. "We'll be important today!" he declared. "We're going to chase those fox cubs off Thunderclan territory ourselves!"

Hollykit gasped. "But if we leave the camp without permission; we'll be breaking the warrior code!"

"We'll be doing it for the good of the Clan," Lionkit argued. "How can that be against the warrior code?"

Jaykit thought of something else. "We're not warriors yet—we're not even apprentices! So why do we have to obey the warrior code?"

As the kits continue with their growing plan, purple eyes stared at them before shaking her black head. The she-cat turned to the stone wall, knowing what will happen next.


	4. Hunting Foxes, Hunted

"Can you smell that?" Jaykit asked Lionkit and Hollykit, his nose turned to the largest tree they have seen.

"Ugh!" Lionkit wrinkled his nose, landing on his rump.

"It must be the dead fox!" Hollykit guessed. "We're near the trap."

"Can you see it?" Jaykit asked.

Hollykit wriggled away from him and peeked out of the hole. "I can see over the root!" she whispered from just above his head. "The dead fox is lying under the oak. The patrol is beyond it, searching the bracken." She hopped from her hidden spot.

"They're looking in the wrong place," Jaykit mewed, turning to the sycamore. "The fox came past this tree," he told the others. "I can smell her milkscent."

"We've found her trail!" Hollykit mewed.

Lionkit scrabbled out from under the root. "Let's follow it! It'll lead us to her cubs!"

Jaykit turned away from where Thornclaw, Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw were plunging through the frost-blackened undergrowth. Heading out from the sycamore roots, he padded along the scent of the milk-trail. His senses trained only on the milk-scent, Jaykit had not noticed the spiky bush.

"Watch out!" Lionkit warned. "There are brambles ahead."

"I'll find a way through!" Hollykit offered. She pushed into the lead and wriggled into the branches. Looking through the branches, she spotted a narrow tunnel small enough for them to fit through. Hollykit poked out of the branches. "I found a path!"

Lionkit nodded while Jaykit reluctantly followed them. She made sure to step in places where it would be easy for Jaykit. They reached a small clearing. Hollykit open her jaws, catching fox scent. She looked to the bracken.

"Wait here!" Hollykit ordered.

"Why?" Lionkit objected.

"Just wait while I take a look behind this bracken!"

"I'm coming too," Lionkit insisted.

Why did her brother have to be so stubborn? "We don't want the cubs to know we're here," Hollykit mewed. "If all three of us go blundering in, they'll know something's up and we'll lose the element of surprise."

"My golden pelt will blend in better against the bracken than your black fur," Lionkit pointed out. Hollykit signed and nodded.

"What about me?" Jaykit mewed.

"We won't attack the den without you," Hollykit promised. "But first, you and I will wait here while Lionkit finds the way in."

"Come back as soon as you find it," Jaykit whispered as Lionkit disappeared into the bracken. They waited for a while til Lionkit finally returned.

"The main entrance to the den is right behind this clump," Lionkit whispered, shaking leaves from his pelt. "But there's a smaller entrance on the other side of the lump of earth—probably an escape route—that leads into the back."

"Are the cubs inside?" Jaykit asked, his tail twitching with anticipation.

"I didn't go in, but I could hear them crying for food."

"They must still be young, then," Hollykit guessed. "Otherwise they'd have come out by now."

"It'll be easier to flush them out if we go down the escape passage," Lionkit proposed. "If we rush them, the surprise will be enough to get them out of the den, and then we can chase them toward the border."

"Which way is the border?" Hollykit asked.

Lionkit snorted impatiently. "There'll be a border whichever way we drive them!" he snapped. "Thunderclan territory doesn't go on forever. Let's get on with it, before Thornclaw finds them and takes all the glory." He surged away into the bracken before either Jaykit or Hollykit could reply. He led them up the slope, out of the bracken, and over the top of the leaf-strewn mound of earth.

"The escape route is here," he announced, skidding to a halt.

"It's no bigger than a rabbit hole!" Hollykit mewed in surprise, staring at the shockingly small hole. Aren't foxes suppose to be big?

"Perhaps that's what it used to be," Lionkit answered, shrugging. "Who cares, so long as we can fit down it?"

Thornclaw's meow sounded in the trees not far away. The warrior patrol must have given up searching the bracken near the dead fox and were heading toward the mound of earth.

"Hurry!" Lionkit hissed. "Or Thornclaw will find the cubs first!"

Jaykit dove in first, followed by Lionkit then Hollykit. The black kit followed the golden tail of her brother. The air was warm and stank of fox—more than one. Jaykit let out a threatening hiss. Lionkit, at his side in an instant, spat ferociously, and Hollykit gave a vicious yowl.

Hollykit flatten her ears as she realized how big fox cubs were. Fear shot through her as the cubs returned their cry with a shrieking cry of their own.

"They're huge!" wailed Lionkit.

"Let's get out of here!" Jaykit screeched. Jaykit bolted back to the small tunnel, Lionkit and Hollykit right at his paws. Hot breath followed her heels, jaws snapping at her tail. Hollykit ran as fast as her small paws could. She shot by Thornclaw's patrol. Thornclaw yowled in surprise as she sped into the trees, but she dared not stop, fearing the snapping jaws behind her. It was a while before she hurtled into Brambleclaw's patrol on its way back from the lakeshore.

Brambleclaw grabbed her by the scruff, stopping her. "What's happening?" Brambleclaw demanded. "What are you doing out here?"

Hollykit opened her mouth, trying to explain. Instead, she panted, her heart thudding like a woodpecker on a hollow tree. Her small body shook badly from the flight.

Spiderleg caught up with her. "The kits found the fox cubs," the black warrior told Brambleclaw. "It seems they decided to organize a patrol of their own."

Hollykit did not dare catch her father's eye.

"Where are Lionkit and Jaykit?" Brambleclaw growled.

"Lionkit's with Poppypaw," Spiderleg reported. "He's okay. We haven't found Jaykit yet, but the fox cubs have scattered. It's going to take a while to hunt them out." The apprentice had followed Spiderleg, Lionkit dangling from her mouth.

Brambleclaw glanced up at the sky and muttered under his breath, then escorted Hollykit and Lionkit unceremoniously back to the Thunderclan camp. His thick tail sweep the grass and fallen leaves angrily.

-Camp-

"What are you doing, Nightshimmer?" The pale golden she-cat asked. The black cat had her legs bent, preparing to jump. Nightshimmer simply blinked and nodded to the top of the stone wall.

"Waiting for someone." Dewyfern was about to ask who when there was a shriek from above. She recognized the small gray tabby, Jaykit. Why is he up there? Isn't he and his sibling suppose to be in the nursery?

A black blur jumped to Jaykit, grabbing his scruff. Nightshimmer landed neatly on the side of the stone wall and leap back to the ground. Jaykit shuddered as Nightshimmer gently put him to the ground.


	5. Warning

Hollykit waited in the center of the clearing, where Brambleclaw had left her. The sun was sinking behind the trees, pulling a shadow across the camp. Lionkit sat beside her, his pelt golden in the fading sunshine. Cold air drifted down into the hollow, and Lionkit shivered. Jaykit was given some water earlier and was waiting with them for Firestar. 

She dug her claws into the ground to stop her paws from trembling. How was their grandfather going to punish them this time?

She glanced around, hoping no cat was staring at them. Mousefur was leaning against Halfrock, a smooth low stone that stuck out of the ground near the entrance to the elders' den. It would still be warm from the sun. Dustpelt was sharing tongues with Whitewing beside the thorn bush that formed the warriors' den. His apprentice, Hazelpaw, nodded to him before picking up a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and carried it over to the apprentices' den. Her littermates, Mousepaw and Berrypaw, were there already, eating.

Hollykit caught Mousepaw's eye. The young gray-and-white tom blinked sympathetically at her before looking away. Hollykit lifted her chin a little higher. She wasn't going to let any cat see how scared she was. She would take her punishment like a true warrior.

She watched Sorreltail carry fresh-kill to her mate, Brackenfur. The golden-brown tom was resting beneath Highledge, his breath hoarse after his bout of whitecough. Sorreltail skirted the clearing, avoiding the kits, and dropped a mouse at his paws.

"How are you?" she asked him.

"Better," he croaked. "I'll be fine in a couple of days. Birchfall's recovered already, thanks to Leafpool."

"Well, at least you're not in the medicine den anymore," Sorreltail meowed gratefully.

"Leafpool said it'd be better to breath fresh air since it's warmer out here now—" Hollykit toned out. She glanced at Jaykit, who was now calm, though his fur is now messy from his scare. She sighed ruefully. "We shouldn't have gone out."

"I wish you had realized that earlier!"

Firestar's meow took Hollykit by surprise. Tiny stones were still tumbling into the clearing where he had leaped down the rockfall that led from his den.

Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight followed him down and stood a little behind the Thunderclan leader. Hollykit's heart sank when she saw anger in her father's eyes and disappointment in her mother's. She stared down at her paws, remembering the disastrous ending to their assault on the fox's den.

Hollykit leaned against Lionkit as Firestar, Squirrelflight, and Brambleclaw lined up in front of them. She was glad she didn't have to face them alone.

"All of you are okay," Firestar mewed. "But Thornclaw's patrol has not returned. Which means they are still hunting the fox cubs."

"What possessed you to leave the hollow?" Brambleclaw demanded.

Firestar narrowed his eyes. "I know they are your kits, Brambleclaw," he meowed, "but I'll deal with this."

Squirrelflight's tail flicked. Hollykit guessed there were a few sharp words she wanted to share with her kits, but she held her tongue as Firestar spoke.

"We only wanted to help the clan!" Hollykit protested.

"Then do as you are told!" Firestar growled. "What if Jaykit had died? Would that have helped the Clan? You were lucky that Nightshimmer was there." His fierce gaze flicked from Lionkit to Hollykit to Jaykit, and they shook their heads.

Firestar pressed on. "You almost led the foxes right into the camp—as it is, you have given them a scent trail they're not likely to forget!"

"We thought if we could find the foxes—" Lionkit began.

"If you'd thought at all you would have let our warriors deal with the foxes and the clan would be safe now!" Firestar lashed his tail. "Instead we have three hungry foxes who know where our camp is!"

Hollykit glanced guiltily at the nursery. Squirrelflight pawed the ground in small, frustrated steps. Firestar nodded for her to speak.

"I'm so disappointed in you three!" she burst out. "What if you died?!"

"Sorry," all three kits said in unison.

"...Are you going to stop us from becoming apprentices?" Lionkit asked in a small voice.

Hollykit's breath caught in her throat. Would their father really do that? She looked pleadingly up at him.

"If it were up to me," Brambleclaw meowed, "I would make you wait another moon. But it is Firestar's decision."

The clan leader narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to decide right now," he told them. "Go back to the nursery. Ferncloud and Daisy will keep an eye on you, and it is up to you to make sure one of them knows where you are at all times. If you're not where you are supposed to be, then you're clearly not ready for the responsibilities of apprenticeship."

"We won't wander off again," Lionkit promised.

"Hollykit?" Firestar prompted.

"I won't do anything that might stop me from becoming an apprentice," she vowed, meaning every word.

"Jaykit?"

"I'm with them," Jaykit declared.

"Very well," Firestar meowed. "I just hope you have learned something today. True warriors think of the clan's safety before anything else." He turned away, padding to where Brackenfur was sharing tongues with Sorreltail.

His parting words seared Hollykit's fur. She had let her clan down. She glanced nervously at Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight. "We're sorry," she ventured.

"I should hope so." Squirrelflight sighed.

"You should be setting an example," Brambleclaw added.

Squirrelflight's gaze softened a little. She bent down and licked Jaykit, Hollykit and Lionkit each between their ears. "I know you thought you were doing the right thing," she sympathized.

"We just wanted to help the clan," Hollykit insisted.

"Your chance will come," Brambleclaw promised. "Now off to the nursery, you three."

Hollykit nodded. Suddenly she heard pawsteps pounding toward the camp. A voice called from beyond the barrier. It was Thornclaw. The golden brown tabby hurried through the thorns with Spiderleg, Poppypaw, and Mousepaw close behind.

Firestar left Brackenfur and Sorreltail and padded over to meet them. Brambleclaw joined him. "Any luck finding them?" the deputy asked.

"Poppypaw and Mousepaw chased one of the cubs over the border into Shadowclan territory," Thornclaw reported. "Redstrike and Silveryflight chased off the other two to Windclan territory."

Hollykit let out a breath.

"Where are Redstrike and Silveryflight?" Firestar asked.

"They were out hunting when they encountered the foxes. They're bringing back prey as we speak."

Firestar nodded. "I see. Looks like we were lucky with the fox cubs."

Hollykit stared at the ground, kneading it. A tail touched her side. Hollykit caught Squirrelflight's eye. Her mother blinked at her sympathetically. "Don't be too hard on yourself," she murmured. "Every cat makes mistakes. You just have to learn from them."

"I will make it up to the clan," Hollykit promised.

"I know you will," Squirrelflight assured her. "Now, go to the nursery, kits."


	6. Thorns and Herbs

Hollykit was dreaming that the nursery was filled with hedgehogs. They filed in through the entrance, rudely brushing Ferncloud and her kits aside and settling into the mossy nest around her. Their sharp prickles spiked her back. She fidgeted to move away from her uncomfortable new denmates.

"What are you doing here?" she muttered. "Go away!" But the prickles still dug into her. Opening her eyes, she twisted around and saw Lionkit curled up asleep beside her. He looked like he'd fallen out of a tree, his golden pelt ruffled and studded with black thorns. Hollykit circled her ears to a yawn. She turned to her brother, glaring at her out of annoyance.

"Sorry...was having bad dreams, Jaykit."

Jaykit groaned and stretched, touching Lionkit's pelt. "Ouch! No wonder you were moving so much. Lionkit is covered in thorns."

Hollykit nodded and jabbed Lionkit with her forepaw. "Hey!" she whispered. "Where did you pick up these thorns? They're ripping me to shreds."

Lionkit opened his amber eyes. "What?" he murmured, his mouth stretching into a yawn.

"You're covered in thorns!" Hollykit guessed he'd been out of the den. "What have you been up to?" she demanded.

"I couldn't sleep," Lionkit confessed. "I went for a walk in the clearing."

Hollykit stared at him in dismay. "Aren't we in enough trouble? Do you want to stop us from being made apprentices?"

"It's okay," Lionkit soothed. "No one saw me." He sat up and wiped a paw over his face. "Except Mousepaw, and he won't tell. It was Mousepaw who pushed me into the thorns so Dustpelt wouldn't spot me."

Hollykit hissed softly. _Why doesn't he think before he acts?_ "We'd better get those thorns out of you before anyone else sees them."

"They really sting," Lionkit complained, twisting around to tug one from his flank with his teeth.

"I'd better go to the medicine den and get something to treat them with," Hollykit told him. "We don't want your scratches getting infected."

"What will you tell Leafpool?"

"Don't worry. I'll tell her there was a thorn in your bedding and you rolled on it." She climbed out of her nest and headed toward the entrance. "You start pulling out all the thorns you can reach," she instructed. "I'll get the rest when I come back. Jaykit, help him get the thorns out." Before she began to nose her way out of the den, another thought struck her. "And don't leave them lying around. If Icekit or Foxkit spike themselves on one, Ferncloud will pluck your whiskers till you're bald as a bird!"

She ran across the clearing, relieved to find it empty. The sun was rising behind the trees that topped the cliffs, but the camp, still in shadow, was cold. Hollykit guessed that the dawn patrol must have left already and the other cats were making the most of their snug dens until the sun had reached into the hollow and warmed the camp.

She reached the medicine den unnoticed and pushed through the brambles that concealed its entrance. Leafpool was nowhere to be seen, and her scent was stale. She turned around to the entrance. Hollykit poked her nose out the den. A shadow cast over her, startling the kit. It was Leafpool, holding a bunch of nettles carefully by their stems. The dew still glistened on their jagged leaves. She dropped them and looked at Hollykit. "You're up early. Do you need something?"

"Lionkit's been scratched by a thorn in his bedding."

Leafpool opened her eyes wide in surprise. "A thorn? I'll have to tell Brambleclaw about it. Wait here, I'll get some dock."

Hollykit waited, then realized what she had forgotten. If Leafpool saw how many thorns were tangled in Lionkit's pelt, the kits would be in trouble. She'll have to put Leafpool off somehow. Just as Leafpool poked her head out, Hollykit jumped in front of her aunt. The brown tabby attempted to circle around the kit, but Hollykit kept jumping in her way.

Leafpool dropped the tangy-scented leaves. "Yes?"

"Can-can you teach me how to apply it?"

"I can, but Lionkit still needs the dock, right?" Leafpool directed her ears at her.

Hollykit remained silent, trying to think of a reply. "He-he does, but I want to do it by myself..."

"Are you interested in being a medicine cat, Hollykit?"

Hollykit pricked her ears. "A medicine cat? I can?"

"Let me show you how to apply it," Leafpool offered. She crouched over the pile of dock, taking a single leaf in her mouth and chewing it. Once it was well chewed she held out her paw and licked the juice from the dock into her fur. Then she spat out the remainder of the leaf.

"Make sure you lick it in firmly so that it seeps right into the wound," she advised. "It may sting, but it will save a lot more pain later if you do it properly."

Hollykit watched carefully.

"Do you want to try it before you go?" Leafpool asked.

"I think I should get back to Lionkit," Hollykit mewed, wanting to return to the nursery before Daisy and Ferncloud realized she was missing. "He was pretty sore."

"I could come too," Leafpool offered.

"Thanks, but you must have things to do," Hollykit mewed, remembering why she had blocked Leafpool earlier. "I'll come and get you if I need help."

"Very well." Leafpool nodded. Was that a knowing glint Hollykit saw in her amber gaze? Had she guessed that Hollykit was not telling her the whole truth about Lionkit's injuries?

Not eager to find out, Hollykit picked up the dock leaves in her jaws and trotted out of the medicine den. Her heart sank when she saw that the camp was growing busy. Daisy had come out of the nursery and was warming herself in a spot where the sun's weak rays were just beginning to reach. Her kits huddled together outside the apprentices' den, blinking sleep from their eyes.

They looked like a single soft cloud, Berrypaw's creamy fur merging with the gray and white of Hazelpaw and Mousepaw. Cinderpaw, Honeypaw, and Poppypaw were sharing tongues by the halfrock. Their slender dappled bodies reminded Hollykit of their mother, Sorreltail, who was nosing through the remains of yesterday's fresh-kill pile with Thornclaw and Spiderleg.

There's no reason they should think I don't have permission to be here, Hollykit told herself. She stalked across the clearing, nodding to the apprentices as casually as she could manage. She avoided looking at Thornclaw and Spiderleg. Her paws burned with every step, but she kept her tail high and tried not to look hurried as she approached the nursery.

She reached the entrance unchallenged and scrabbled through with the dock leaves clamped tightly between her jaws.

Ferncloud's voice startled her. "Where have you been?"

Hollykit dropped the dock leaves and glanced at Lionkit. She was relieved to see that he and Jaykit had gotten the thorns out of his pelt and smoothed down his fur enough to look as though he'd spent the whole night in his nest.

"I told Ferncloud about the thorn in my bedding," Lionkit put in hastily.

"I've brought some dock leaves for Lionkit's scratch," Hollykit explained to Ferncloud. "Sorry I didn't ask first, but I didn't want to wake you."

"You should have waited until I was awake and asked permission. But I suppose you were only thinking of your littermate, and I can't disapprove of that." Ferncloud sighed. "Though Starclan knows how thorns got into the nursery in the first place!" She glanced at her two kits wriggling at her belly. "You must be careful not to carry anything in on your pelts when there are small kits in the nursery."

"We'll be extra careful in the future," Hollykit promised. She hurried over to Lionkit with the leaves. "Did you and Jaykit get all the thorns out?" she whispered.

Lionkit nodded. "Yeah, I put them under the brambles at the edge of the den." He flicked his tail to the den wall near his nest.

"We can reach under from outside and drag them out later," she mewed. "Now, where are the worst scratches?" She began to chew up a dock leaf while Lionkit twisted and pointed with his nose to a sore spot on his flank.

The dock leaf tasted foul. "Yuck!" Hollykit screwed up her nose as she chewed. She leaned down and licked the juice into Lionkit's scratch, just as Leafpool had shown her. As she dragged her tongue firmly across the wound, Lionkit flinched and let out a squeak of pain. Hollykit leaped back in alarm.

"Are you two fighting?" Ferncloud asked, not looking up from her kits.

"No," Lionkit meowed. "The dock juice hurts; that's all."

Hollykit felt her tail tremble. She couldn't do this! Seeing Lionkit's pain made her feel queasy. But she couldn't let any of his scratches get infected...a gray paw podded at her side.

"Let me do it," Jaykit mewed. Hollykit nodded and back away. He chewed the horrible-tasting leaf and set to work licking the juice into another scratch. Lionkit winced but Jaykit didn't seem to be bothered by it, as he chewed another dock leaf.

"That feels much better," Lionkit breathed as Jaykit tended to his last wound. Hollykit sat back with relief. Just looking at the wound already made her nauseous, there was just no way she could be a medicine cat.


	7. Apprentice

Hollykit awoke before dawn. The nursery was dark and cozy, warmed by her sleeping denmates. She lay in her nest and listened to an owl calling from the trees lakeside of the camp. She was too excited to go back to sleep. Brambleclaw had told her last night that Firestar would be going ahead with the naming ceremony after all.

"You've behaved well and not left the nursery without permission," he meowed as she took prey from the fresh-kill pile.

Hollykit glanced over to her brothers, who were already eating by the half-buried rock. "What about Jaykit?"

"Don't worry," Brambleclaw had reassured her. "Firestar hasn't forgotten about Jaykit."

Hollykit rolled over in her nest and stretched. The black kit blinked open her eyes. Dawn was creeping through the knotted bramble walls. Lionkit and Jaykit were still asleep beside her. Squirrelflight's nest smelled stale and cold. She must have returned late from patrol again and chosen to sleep in the warriors' den. Hollykit sat up and stretched.

"Awake already?" Ferncloud meowed. The queen was feeding her kits, her pale gray pelt glowing softly in the light.

"I'm too excited to sleep!" Hollykit mewed. It's the day she's made apprentice with her brothers.

"You may go outside if you like," Ferncloud allowed. "The dawn patrol will be back before long. They might bring warm prey."

Icekit wriggled around and stared at Hollykit with round blue eyes. "You won't be sleeping in the nursery tonight," she mewed.

Hollykit blinked at her. "No. I'll be in apprentices' den."

Foxkit pushed away from his mother. "Lucky! I want to be there"

Hollykit twitched her ears. "You will be soon."

"Not soon enough!" Foxkit mewed. He reached out and caught Icekit's twitching tail between his auburn paws. "I can't wait to be a warrior."

Icekit flicked her tail away from him. "Will you come back and tell us what it's like being an apprentice?"

"Of course," Hollykit purred. She dipped her head to their mother. "Bye, Ferncloud."

Foxkit and Icekit scrambled out of Ferncloud's nest. "Bye, Hollykit," Icekit mewed, reaching up to push her white muzzle against Hollykit's cheek.

"Bye, Icekit." Hollykit bent down and licked Foxkit between the ears. "Don't get into trouble." With a twinge of sadness, she turned and squeezed out of the nursery.

The clearing sparkled with dew. Mist clouded in the bushes and clefts that ringed the base of the enclosing rock wall. Hollykit stretched: first her forepaws, then her hind legs, arching her back; and enjoyed the fresh scents of the forest.

"Good morning!" Squirrelflight called. She was sitting in front of the warriors' den; a paw raised, ready to wash behind her ears. Brambleclaw sat next to her.

"Hi!" Hollykit mewed, trotting over to greet them.

Brambleclaw purred loudly. "It's your big day!" He touched Hollykit's head with his muzzle.

"It sure is," Hollykit agreed, trying not to think how close she had come to ruining her chance of being made an apprentice.

The thorn barrier trembled; the dawn patrol was returning. Cloudtail emerged from the entrance with his apprentice, Cinderpaw, and Stormfur trotting behind. They each carried prey in their jaws.

Brambleclaw padded away to meet them as they dropped their catch, his dark tabby pelt glistening where it had brushed dew from the branches overhanging the warriors' den. "All clear?"

"No cat has crossed the boundaries," Cloudtail reported. "Although Windclan and Shadowclan are keeping their markers fresh."

Hollykit noticed Squirrelflight's ears prick warily.

"Do you think that's a problem?" Brambleclaw asked.

Cloudtail looked thoughtful. "No, but it feels as if they're both making an effort to remind us that they're there."

"You think they're showing signs of aggression?"

"Not aggression," Cloudtail corrected. "But they never used to be so thorough about marking their boundaries."

"Should we be stepping up patrols?" Ashfur slid out of the warriors' den, making Hollykit jump. He padded toward Cloudtail and Brambleclaw, and Squirrelflight followed him, leaving Hollykit alone.

"We'll ignore it for now," Brambleclaw decided.

"Isn't that a decision for Firestar to make?" Ashfur meowed.

Brambleclaw looked sharply at the gray warrior, but Ashfur's eyes showed no disrespect, only concern.

Brambleclaw nodded. "I'll speak to him about it, of course," he meowed. "But there's no point overreacting if Shadowclan and Windclan are just trying to provoke us."

Squirrelflight looked at Cloudtail. "Did you refresh our boundary markers?" Cloudtail nodded.

Hollykit felt another pelt brush her side. Lionkit had joined her, and Jaykit was scrambling out of the nursery after him. "What's going on?" Lionkit mewed.

"The dawn patrol's reporting back," Hollykit told him. The idea that Shadowclan and Windclan were pressing on their borders worried her.

She glanced around the clearing. Whitewing, Spiderleg, and Thornclaw shared a pigeon beside the halfrock. Honeypaw and Poppypaw were play fighting on the grass patch outside their den. As she watched, the apprentices stopped and looked up at Highledge. Hollykit followed their gaze, her paws pricking with anticipation.

Firestar was leaping down the tumble of rocks that led from his den. Sandstorm nimbly picked her way after him. Hollykit's heart felt as if it flipped right over when Firestar called to the clan: "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Highledge. It is time to fulfill a promise I made to three of our kits."

Hollykit glanced at her brothers. This was it! The moment when they would begin serving their clan!

Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight hurried toward them. Squirrelflight quickly smoothed the fur between Lionkit's ears.

"Are you ready?" Brambleclaw's eyes were shining. "Totally!" Hollykit mewed. "Good." Brambleclaw padded away and sat beside Birchfall.

 _Does that mean Birchfall's going to be a mentor?_  Hollykit wondered.

Squirrelflight licked Jaykit's cheek. "Good luck, all of you." She went to join Brambleclaw. A gray tom with dark flecks padded to them. "You're going to be apprentices today."

"Yeah," Hollykit mewed happily, looking up to Ashfur. She then looked around the camp.

Mousefur emerged stiffly from the elders' den. Honeypaw, Poppypaw, and Berrypaw clustered together, whispering. Whitewing, Spiderleg, and Thornclaw padded over from the Halfrock, leaving the remains of their meal behind. Nightshimmer, Silveryflight and Redstrike padded from the warriors' den. Within moments, the whole clan gathered gazing at Firestar. For the first time that morning, Hollykit's excitement felt closer to anxiety. The expectations of Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight, of Firestar, of the whole clan, pressed down on her shoulders like a badger's paws.

She felt a soft muzzle nudging her from behind. She turned to see Ashfur ushering her toward the circle. She searched Ashfur's eyes, but they gave no clue about what would happen next, only encouraged her forward with a gentle blink. Lionkit and Jaykit were gently nudged by Leafpool.

Hollykit pushed her way between Ferncloud and Daisy and halted. Lionkit and Jaykit squirmed into place beside her, and she felt herself trembling against Daisy's flank. The cream-colored queen glanced fondly at her and ran a smoothing tail over her black pelt.

"I gather you all for one of my favorite duties," Firestar announced. "Hollykit, Lionkit, and Jaykit have reached their sixth moon."

So Jaykit was going to be included in the apprentice-naming ceremony after all.

"They have had an adventurous kithood," Firestar went on with a hint of amusement in his voice, "but I hope they have learned valuable lessons, and I believe they are ready to become apprentices."

The clan meowed in approval. Firestar waited for the noise to die away before going on. "Lionkit!"

The golden brown tabby kit bounced forward, quivering with excitement.

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Lionpaw."

Berrypaw called his name and the other apprentices joined in. Firestar looked at the cloud-darkened sky. "I ask Starclan to watch over you and guide you until you find in your paws the strength and courage of a warrior."

Lionpaw's eyes sparkled as he gazed up at his leader.

"Ashfur," Firestar called.

The pale gray tom lifted his head. His eyes brightened, and excitement showed in the tiny twitch of his tail as he stepped forward.

"You mentored Birchfall, and he is a credit to his clan," Firestar meowed. "Now Thunderclan asks you to prove yourself once more a great mentor."

"I won't let Thunderclan down," Ashfur promised.

Hollykit suddenly forgot to be nervous, and she raced to the center of the clearing, skidding to a halt beside Firestar.

His whiskers twitched. "From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Hollypaw."

Hollypaw stared at the apprentices as they called her new name. Berrypaw and Hazelpaw seemed so big and strong. In the nursery, she had been older than Icekit and Foxkit. Now she would be one of the youngest of her denmates. Her heart drummed like paws racing over the forest floor.

"Brackenfur," Firestar called.

The golden brown tabby padded forward, eyes bright.

"You have shown yourself loyalty and determination. You will be the mentor of Hollypaw."

"Thank you, Firestar." Brackenfur lowered his muzzle and Hollypaw reached out to touch noses with him. He touched her flank and lead her to the side of the clearing next to Ashfur and Lionpaw.

Jaykit marched into the clearing and stood in front of Firestar. "What about me? I want to be an apprentice like Lionpaw and Hollypaw."

"Of course you do," Firestar agreed. "And your mentor will be Nightshimmer. "

Jaykit spun around, the feathery she-cat already behind him. "I'll make you work harder than any other apprentice," she promised. Jaykit scowled at her while Nightshimmer merely appeared amused.

"From this day until you receive your warrior name, you will be Jaypaw."

"Jaypaw! Jaypaw! Jaypaw!" Mousepaw's and Berrypaw's call rang around the hollow, and the other apprentices joined in loudly. Hollypaw was sure she and Lionpaw were yowling the loudest.

"Nightshimmer," Firestar meowed, "You had once helped Longtail with his blindness and I am certain you will help Jaypaw with his."

"Absolutely," she mewed as if it was utterly expected of her.

_Of course it is! She has to help Jaypaw become a warrior!_

Nightshimmer then mewed in a low voice to Jaypaw and he attempted to touch her nose, seeking it. Nightshimmer made sure to have her muzzle low and close enough for him to touch it. Jaypaw's whiskers brushed passed her muzzle once before touching her nose. The whole clan raised their voices to cheer the new apprentices.


	8. Territory

"When can we start training?" Hollypaw asked.

"That's up to your mentors," Firestar told her.

"Come on, Lionpaw," Ashfur meowed. "Let's find you a nest in the apprentices' den; then I'll show you the forest."

"Right now?" Lionpaw mewed excitedly. "And Hollypaw and Jaypaw?"

"Why not? They'll need their mentors' permissions though."

"Sure, Jaypaw can go with you," Nightshimmer mewed, before Jaypaw can even ask. The gray tabby brighten up and followed his brother's scent. Hollypaw turned to her mentor. Brackenfur nodded. Hollypaw raced after her brothers in the apprentices' den. "Wait for me!"

"So, I guess we'll all take them out then. Brackenfur?"

...

Hollypaw looked around the den, taking in the scents. Berrypaw's scent was the nest next to them, in between Honeypaw's and Hazelpaw's. Her black ears flicked behind her as Cinderpaw's drifted to her.

"Hey there, Lionpaw, Hollypaw, Jaypaw, looking for your own nests?" the dappled gray she-cat mewed.

"Yes, our mentors said we could find our nests before taking us out to see the forest," Lionpaw mewed excitedly, his tail twitching.

Cinderpaw nodded and flicked her tail to three nests near each other. "Your nests are over there. The other apprentices and I took the chance to build your nests yesterday when we heard you three are going to be apprentices today. You can choose among yourselves."

"Thanks, Cinderpaw. Can you tell the others we said thank you to them?" Hollypaw mewed. Cinderpaw purred and nodded, padding out of the den. "Thank you!" Jaypaw and Lionpaw mewed after her.

"So, which one do you want?" Hollypaw asked her brothers.

Lionpaw padded to the one on her left, rubbing his scent on it. Jaypaw padded forward and touched the one on her right.

"I guess I'll take the one in the middle, then." Hollypaw put her paw on the nest, leaving her scent there. "Let's go. The sun won't wait for us!"

The three kits padded out to the clearing. Ashfur and Brackenfur were talking to each other.

Nightshimmer was washing her ear. She paused midway and turned to them. "Found your nests?"

"Yes, and we're ready to explore the territory," Jaypaw mewed.

"Let's go then," Ashfur mewed, padding to the tunnel. Brackenfur, Lionpaw and Hollypaw followed him, with Nightshimmer and Jaypaw behind. They head to where the wind was coming from. Soon the land was bare of trees and bushes, the grass bending to the wind.

"This is a piece of the moors we got from Windclan. Rabbits can be caught here, but they're fast. Up ahead is the stream. We can get there for water. Be careful not to step past the stream. Windclan territory is beyond that. Remember their scent," Brackenfur mewed as they reached the stream flowing between Thunderclan and Windclan. Hollypaw sniffed the air, taking in the Windclan scent.

"If you follow the stream, you can reach the Moonpool," Ashfur meowed, his tail pointing upstream. Hollypaw nodded and looked behind her. Nightshimmer had her tail next to Jaypaw's whiskers.

The cats turned away from the stream and returned to the forest. The fresh scent of the Thunderclan patrol lay ahead. Hollypaw's whiskers twitched at the scents of Swiftfoot, Dewyfern, Redstrike and Thornclaw.

"Taking your apprentices out already?" asked Swiftfoot, worried amber eyes landing on Jaypaw.

"The sooner the better," Nightshimmer curtly replied.

The amber eyes blinked. "Well, I'm sure you have much to show them. We still need to hurry up with our patrol. See you later then, Jaypaw, Hollypaw, Lionpaw," Swiftfoot mewed, leading his patrol away.

The cats continued on, padding beneath the trees and along the bushes. The sunlight appeared through the parted branches before them. Ahead, was a crumbling long path with blue Twoleg markers marking it.

"This is a Thunderpath, though we call it the old Thunderpath. Monsters used to run down here," Ashfur mewed

"Monsters?" Jaypaw asked, nose twitching at the tangy scent.

"They're huge creatures with hard, shiny pelts carrying Twolegs inside their bellies and at night; yellow beams shoot from their eyes. Usually they don't leave the Thunderpath, so we stay away from the path. But when we do need to cross it, we have to watch out for them before crossing," Nightshimmer answered.

"Can't we just outrun them?" Lionpaw asked.

"Impossible, monsters are even faster than the fastest warriors in Windclan. That's why we have to watch for them when we are near a Thunderpath. The air shudders before they appear," Brackenfur meowed.

"And what's that?" Hollypaw mewed, pointing to what appears to be a hard, flat, four-sided walls connected to the Thunderpath.

"That's an Abandoned Twoleg nest. Twolegs used to live here, but they left long ago. This is where we collect herbs. There plentiful of prey here too," the golden tabby mewed, crossing the Thunderpath with Nightshimmer and Ashfur. Hollypaw stared hesitantly at the path and ran across. Lionpaw and Jaypaw raced after her.

Their mentor showed them where the herbs grow and lead them away to another place. Jaypaw wiggled his nose. "What is that scent?"

"That, Jaypaw, is Shadowclan you're smelling," Nightshimmer mewed.

Hollypaw opened her mouth. There was a hint of pine in the air. "How do you catch that? Jaypaw has a good nose, but I can barely catch that scent."

Nightshimmer didn't reply to her question, though she did swivel her ears to her. Hollypaw had heard that there were questions that the feathery she-cat won't answer, but she'll give you a knowing look or something like that. It looks like this is one of those questions Nightshimmer will not say a word about.

Twoleg nests clustered together loomed in a distance. The scent of Shadowclan was strong.

"Is that Shadowclan territory?" Lionpaw asked.

"Yes, that's Shadowclan's territory. What you see before you is the Greenleaf Twolegplace. Twolegs come here at Greenleaf. Prey become scarce around here when they come, so it's a good idea to stay away from this part of the border in Greenleaf if you're hunting. Let's go. It won't be good if Shadowclan catches us near the border," Ashfur mewed.

They padded away from the border, following a small stream. They came into a mossy clearing. "It feels...like moss?" Jaypaw mewed.

"It is moss. This is the Clearing, where we train apprentices in stalking techniques and fighting-hunting skills," Brackenfur mewed. The tabby look up to the sky, seeing how far along the sun is. "There's one last place we haven't gone to yet."

-Shoreline-

"Wow! The lake is _huge_!" Hollypaw mewed at the sight. The cats had reached the lake. The black kit turned to see..."What is that, hanging out over the lake?"

"A halfbridge. Twolegs sometimes go out in the middle of the lake on a water-monster," Brackenfur mewed. "There's still one more place, Hollypaw."

Hollypaw nodded and bounded after them, padding alongside the lake. Ahead, was the biggest tree she had ever seen. "Wow!"

"This is the Sky Oak," her mentor mewed. Hollypaw, Jaypaw, and Lionpaw padded near the tree. "Be careful though, there's an old rabbit burrow at its roots."

Jaypaw placed a paw on one of the roots. "How long has this been here?"

"A very long time. That's for sure," Nightshimmer mewed. They turned to the setting sun. "Well, time to go back home."

...

Hollypaw and her brothers padded into the apprentices' den. The older apprentices were already in their nests, tired from their training. Hollypaw settled down on her nest, with Lionpaw on her right and Jaypaw on her left. She yawned, closing her holly-green eyes.


End file.
